Author Archives: John

The Hallé, Don Juan & February 13th

Posted on Saturday, 14 January, 2012 by John

I was first introduced to the Hallé around 1960, I would be about ten or eleven, when I was taken to a concert in Manchester by a great-aunt and great-uncle. I have little recollection of the event, I think it was English composers, but I do remember being fascinated by Sir John Barbirolli and the [...]

Posted in Music | Tagged Andrew Gourlay, Bruch, classical, Don Juan, Hallé, Hull City Hall, Humperdinck, Mendelssohn, Music, orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli, Sophia Jaffé, Strauss, symphony. concerto, tone poem, violin | Leave a comment

Not a good start to the year in Spain

Posted on Monday, 2 January, 2012 by John

I’ve just finished talking to a friend in Spain and the whole conversation was taken up with the economy and the new government. After we finished I noticed that El Blog Salmon had an article today on exactly that problem; and you can read the article here. You would have thought that the PP had [...]

Posted in Politics, Spain - España | Tagged crisis, economy, el blog salmon, euro, PP, Rajoy, Spain - España | Leave a comment

Happy New Year 2012 – Prospero y Feliz Año Nuevo

Posted on Sunday, 1 January, 2012 by John

Happy New Year to everybody this year and hope that you all have a wonderful 2012. It has been the wettest day of the year so far!! It hasn’t stopped raining all day. Very different from last year, when there seemed to be inches of ice and snow everywhere. I’m hoping to be a little [...]